Final Fantasy VIII - Oh, so it only looks like that in the cutscenes? And summons take forever? I started playing this game and it just irritated me on so many levels that I stopped after about 30 minutes. And I was a devotee of the series (at least the American-released ones since that's all I knew about) from FFII on. It's still a tie between II and III for me as to which is my top favorite. Sure, the FF series has always kind of played like "next verse, same as the last," but VIII just put me off.
Fable - Promised so much, and delivered on so little. I loved the game because it was rather fun to be able to mix up my styles of fighting completely on the fly. It was basically a fighting game with experience building, though. Morality was too simplistic, the time passage only occurred with your character (while no one else ages a DAY, you're 65 well before the game was over, based on how many times you went to level up -- my first playthrough had me at 65 at the halfway mark), and the weapons just were done horribly. Sure, you could get a pickaxe instead of a heavy sword, but the only appreciable difference apart from appearance was just the damage stat. I would've liked having weapons that each had inherent strengths and weaknesses (such as one weapon having a naturally better ability to pierce defenses than others, one actually capable of scoring one-hit crits like a katana slicing cleanly through, halving your victim, that sort of thing). I'd rather have two weapons of the same damage stat but are of different classes and thus, advantages. It can't be that hard to figure out, and it would immensely add to the combat sequences, considering that was what the game was basically about.
Halo 2 - Pretty much all the main points have been covered, but what really pissed me off was boss battles. I can fill the Prophet of Regret with all the needles I can find, unload every available rocket and fuel rod cartridge on his ass, and otherwise paint the room with his blood splatters. But I can't kill him with anything but my goddamn fist. That is something that does not belong in ANY FPS, ever. What I was wanting was bigger scale battles of the sort experienced at the end of the level Two Betrayals in the first. A massive slugfest between Covenant and flood, you with access to a plethora of ammo, and the ability and option to wade into said battle in any manner you chose. Ride the ghost in with strafing runs as you whittle down the opposition? Sure! Or maybe hang back, snipe away to dwindle the infantry? Why not! Or just simply charge headlong with a rocket launcher and pistol and generally bring the bad news all in a big way? Hey, knock yourself out! Instead, I'm punching out some jerk with my fist.
Halo 3 - The scarab battles edge just a bit too close to the previous. They still go pretty much the same route with little room for variability, and Bungie still had been promising huge set-piece battles that would allow for variability. And then, the AI. I can't help but think that the AI for the marines in particular is much, much worse, to the point that I find that even though they can be crack shots when manning the turret while I drive, I find more often than not that I'm better off leaving them behind entirely, and taking out entire regiments of vehicles ON FOOT. And then there's the great thing about how they can be crack shots, yes, but they tend to aim at center mass. Not a big problem, until you notice that they keep shooting at center mass...through the top of a hill. How about you either notch your aim up just a bit more, or wait until you can SEE center mass of target before opening up? Or sometimes when they even just...don't...shoot. I once circled a wraith four times waiting for the rocket launcher to be fired, even slowing down thinking maybe he needed to adjust his glasses? I don't know, but I do know I ended up eating a large ball of plasma.
Metal Gear Solid 2 - Hideo Kojima attempts the most convoluted recursive mindfuck. I like complexity, sure. But that was bordering on ridiculous. Here's a twist! A twist on the twist! I'm twisting that twist with a twisty twist of a twist! Let's do the Twist! Did he just hang out with college philosophy stoners the whole time that was being worked on?
Doom 3 - Welcome to the future, we have no duct tape! We forgot how to implement flashlights into firearms! And sure, id knew how to pull off the scary part, but one of the things I loved most about the first two? Crowds. When you have a horde of demons coming straight at you, it tends to up your adrenaline just a little. When you have no more than at maximum, what, 3? 4? Not so much. Oh, but it's in tight, close quarters! Good job!
Far Cry Instincts - Hearing about how awesome Far Cry was in both looks and AI, I was looking forward to trying this. Even bought it without renting first, which is unusual for me. I wish I hadn't, because sure, it looked pretty, but the one thing that really mattered wasn't included. That wonderful AI that made Far Cry more than just a pretty shooter. Great. But man, did that jungle look lush! Especially sad because I did like the acting, and all. Jack Carver was the perfect action movie hero archetype with much of his dialogue.
Black - You mean I can't even step over a rock that has a height of one inch? I can't even bunny hop it? Oh, and the destruction is just for visual effects? Lovely. The first time I found how limited the range of movement was, I stopped playing it. If I'm going to be involved in run and gun style of combat, I'd like to be able to at least run without finding barriers in the form of landscape that's not even higher than my knees. But hey, nice guns.
Jade Empire - My only gripe was that I expected more from the combat system, simply because martial arts is more elegant and complex than how it was done in the game. Moreover, I was saddened by the drunken boxing style, simply because it should've been far more devastating as a form and I would've loved having that as a chosen and upgradeable style. But it's also that I would've loved having an option to mix up the styles, that is, customize my own set of moves culled from varying styles into my own, personal style.
Assassin's Creed - The same gripes already covered, but I'd like to also mention the AI of everyone else. It always annoyed me that those beggars and crazies only ever noticed ME. Never pestered anyone else, never pushed anyone else, just ME. I'm waaay over by this bench, but as soon as I'm in some sort of proximal range set for the beggars, they bee-line over to me instantly. The crazies were worse because they always pushed me into a guard. Every time. I ended up just simply grabbing them and throwing them around, or otherwise punching them out. But for a game that hit so many high notes as it did, especially with all the running around and jumping from roof to roof, especially when chased, it's saddening that it was marred by such stupid details like this. It was even more of a joy to fight the guards using only the hidden blade. Counter stick 2 or 3 of them, and even if there were still 7 remaining, they'd take off utterly shit-scared. But related to that, it would've been better had there been some sort of "learning" on the part of the soldiers of each city. One would think that after racking up a few kills that one would have a harder time traveling about in the cities, given the increase in profile with each killing and especially each assassination completed.
Fable - Promised so much, and delivered on so little. I loved the game because it was rather fun to be able to mix up my styles of fighting completely on the fly. It was basically a fighting game with experience building, though. Morality was too simplistic, the time passage only occurred with your character (while no one else ages a DAY, you're 65 well before the game was over, based on how many times you went to level up -- my first playthrough had me at 65 at the halfway mark), and the weapons just were done horribly. Sure, you could get a pickaxe instead of a heavy sword, but the only appreciable difference apart from appearance was just the damage stat. I would've liked having weapons that each had inherent strengths and weaknesses (such as one weapon having a naturally better ability to pierce defenses than others, one actually capable of scoring one-hit crits like a katana slicing cleanly through, halving your victim, that sort of thing). I'd rather have two weapons of the same damage stat but are of different classes and thus, advantages. It can't be that hard to figure out, and it would immensely add to the combat sequences, considering that was what the game was basically about.
Halo 2 - Pretty much all the main points have been covered, but what really pissed me off was boss battles. I can fill the Prophet of Regret with all the needles I can find, unload every available rocket and fuel rod cartridge on his ass, and otherwise paint the room with his blood splatters. But I can't kill him with anything but my goddamn fist. That is something that does not belong in ANY FPS, ever. What I was wanting was bigger scale battles of the sort experienced at the end of the level Two Betrayals in the first. A massive slugfest between Covenant and flood, you with access to a plethora of ammo, and the ability and option to wade into said battle in any manner you chose. Ride the ghost in with strafing runs as you whittle down the opposition? Sure! Or maybe hang back, snipe away to dwindle the infantry? Why not! Or just simply charge headlong with a rocket launcher and pistol and generally bring the bad news all in a big way? Hey, knock yourself out! Instead, I'm punching out some jerk with my fist.
Halo 3 - The scarab battles edge just a bit too close to the previous. They still go pretty much the same route with little room for variability, and Bungie still had been promising huge set-piece battles that would allow for variability. And then, the AI. I can't help but think that the AI for the marines in particular is much, much worse, to the point that I find that even though they can be crack shots when manning the turret while I drive, I find more often than not that I'm better off leaving them behind entirely, and taking out entire regiments of vehicles ON FOOT. And then there's the great thing about how they can be crack shots, yes, but they tend to aim at center mass. Not a big problem, until you notice that they keep shooting at center mass...through the top of a hill. How about you either notch your aim up just a bit more, or wait until you can SEE center mass of target before opening up? Or sometimes when they even just...don't...shoot. I once circled a wraith four times waiting for the rocket launcher to be fired, even slowing down thinking maybe he needed to adjust his glasses? I don't know, but I do know I ended up eating a large ball of plasma.
Metal Gear Solid 2 - Hideo Kojima attempts the most convoluted recursive mindfuck. I like complexity, sure. But that was bordering on ridiculous. Here's a twist! A twist on the twist! I'm twisting that twist with a twisty twist of a twist! Let's do the Twist! Did he just hang out with college philosophy stoners the whole time that was being worked on?
Doom 3 - Welcome to the future, we have no duct tape! We forgot how to implement flashlights into firearms! And sure, id knew how to pull off the scary part, but one of the things I loved most about the first two? Crowds. When you have a horde of demons coming straight at you, it tends to up your adrenaline just a little. When you have no more than at maximum, what, 3? 4? Not so much. Oh, but it's in tight, close quarters! Good job!
Far Cry Instincts - Hearing about how awesome Far Cry was in both looks and AI, I was looking forward to trying this. Even bought it without renting first, which is unusual for me. I wish I hadn't, because sure, it looked pretty, but the one thing that really mattered wasn't included. That wonderful AI that made Far Cry more than just a pretty shooter. Great. But man, did that jungle look lush! Especially sad because I did like the acting, and all. Jack Carver was the perfect action movie hero archetype with much of his dialogue.
Black - You mean I can't even step over a rock that has a height of one inch? I can't even bunny hop it? Oh, and the destruction is just for visual effects? Lovely. The first time I found how limited the range of movement was, I stopped playing it. If I'm going to be involved in run and gun style of combat, I'd like to be able to at least run without finding barriers in the form of landscape that's not even higher than my knees. But hey, nice guns.
Jade Empire - My only gripe was that I expected more from the combat system, simply because martial arts is more elegant and complex than how it was done in the game. Moreover, I was saddened by the drunken boxing style, simply because it should've been far more devastating as a form and I would've loved having that as a chosen and upgradeable style. But it's also that I would've loved having an option to mix up the styles, that is, customize my own set of moves culled from varying styles into my own, personal style.
Assassin's Creed - The same gripes already covered, but I'd like to also mention the AI of everyone else. It always annoyed me that those beggars and crazies only ever noticed ME. Never pestered anyone else, never pushed anyone else, just ME. I'm waaay over by this bench, but as soon as I'm in some sort of proximal range set for the beggars, they bee-line over to me instantly. The crazies were worse because they always pushed me into a guard. Every time. I ended up just simply grabbing them and throwing them around, or otherwise punching them out. But for a game that hit so many high notes as it did, especially with all the running around and jumping from roof to roof, especially when chased, it's saddening that it was marred by such stupid details like this. It was even more of a joy to fight the guards using only the hidden blade. Counter stick 2 or 3 of them, and even if there were still 7 remaining, they'd take off utterly shit-scared. But related to that, it would've been better had there been some sort of "learning" on the part of the soldiers of each city. One would think that after racking up a few kills that one would have a harder time traveling about in the cities, given the increase in profile with each killing and especially each assassination completed.
